Morneau shows pop; Straily fires gem

Minnesota Twins first baseman Justin Morneau smacked 19 home runs last season, which isn't really all that much for a former MVP or even a regular at his position, but it helped make him worth owning in deeper fantasy leagues. It also gave hope that he had overcome his concussion woes and could return to greater relevancy. Morneau used to be a fantastic player, complete with a sweet swing that generated power and occasionally high batting averages. But he entered Thursday with a mere four home runs this season, which is awfully low, and not so attractive for fantasy owners unless it comes with a .330 batting average or many stolen bases.

Morneau blasted two home runs in Thursday's 9-5 loss to the New York Yankees, which once again offers hope to his owners and those seeing his noteworthy name on free agency. Oooh, what if this is the start of something big? Well, it certainly could be, but let's be honest, I'm just happy Morneau is hitting fly balls again, because with his low rate, it's going to be tough to generate power. Morneau homered Sunday as well, but I admit it didn't trigger hopes of Chris Davis-like production for me. I saw the Independence Day home runs, one pulled to right field off right-hander David Phelps, the other a more majestic blast off strike-throwing lefty Boone Logan, and it did at least cross my mind that perhaps he has made signature adjustments, and there's something to watch here.

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Eric Karabell

Eric Karabell is a senior writer for ESPN.com. He has worked at ESPN since 1997 and covered fantasy sports for ESPN since 2001, specializing in baseball and football. Eric contributes to ESPN The Magazine and appears on a variety of digital platforms for ESPN.com. He has been honored twice as fantasy sports writer of the year by the Fantasy Sports Writers Association, his blog was named best fantasy baseball series for 2007 and he was inducted into the inaugural FSWA Hall of Fame class in 2011.

Eric grew up in the Philadelphia suburbs, and accordingly, favors all Philly teams first, his fantasy teams second. He previously served as ESPN.com's lead NBA editor, and is a former Washington Post and Philadelphia Inquirer sports writer. Eric is also the author of "The Best Philadelphia Sports Arguments," published by Source Books and available in bookstores and online.